Becoming Human

www.becominghuman.org

Objective: Students will understand the process that is used to collect

fossils and determine relationships among extinct species with a
focus on the evolution of the hominid species.

Instructions: Access the website at http://www.becominghuman.org. Each section

of this activity requires you to visit one of the areas at the site, watch video clips
and explore multimedia. Notice the top menu bar which has the listing of the
areas: | Prologue | Evidence | Anatomy | Lineages | Culture | You can use these
links to easily navigate to the different sections.

Prologue

1. After watching the video in the prologue, list three questions you have about
human evolution.
1. What makes us us?

2. How did we adapt?

3. How did some of our related species go extinct?

Evidence

2. Where is Hadar and why is it significant?

It is a place of pilgrimage for people who study human origins. It is in the
northern part of the country in ethiopia. It’s significant because you can
find hominid fossils there
3. Why was the 3.2 milion year old hominid fossil found in Hadar called "Lucy"?
While examining the fossil, the song “Lucy in the sky”played over and
over. Donald thought the skeleton was a girl because it was so petite
4. What is a paleoecologist?
A person who reconstructs the environment where our ancestors lived

( Use the menu at the bottom titled "Related Exhibits" to access the exhibits
related to evidence. The answers to the following questions can be found within
the exhibits, you may have to search for them, the words in bold may give you
clues about where to search. )

Evidence - Related Exhibits

5. The scientific method begins with an observation, information drawn from
these observations rests on the principles of scientific thinking. What are the 3
principles of scientific thinking?
1. A real knowable universe exists independent of human perception

2. The universe behaves according to certain predictable laws without any outside influence

3. These laws are knowable through observation and testing

6. Finding fossils can be difficult, name 4 locations on the earth where significant
hominid fossil finds occur.
In silt, mud, ash and tar

7. When a fossil is found, profiling can be done to answer questions about the
organism. How do scientists determine:

The species - They look for a unique pattern of diagnostic features

The age - They look at the teeth and bones of a skeleton

The sex - They look at the body size, muscles and the pelvis

The health - They look at the bones to see diseases or fractures

Anatomy

8 What is the closest living relative to the human?

African chimpanzees

9. What is a common ancestor?

10. How does the human foot compare to the foot of a chimanzee?
Chimpanzees have a divergent big toe that they use to grab things.
Humans big toe is next to all the other toes to help us stand up right.
11. How does the skull of homo erectus compare to the skull of homo sapiens
Homo sapiens have a bigger skull than homo erectus

Anatomy - Related Exhibits

12. Humans are like other primates in many ways. Name two similarities
between humans and other primates.

We both have eyes on the front of our face. We rely on our eyesight more
than our smell.
13. Bipedalism requires anatomical changes in bone structure to allow walking
upright. Name one difference between the skeleton of a chimpanzee and a
human that aids humans in walking upright.
Chimpanzees don’t have a lumbar curve that helps the body stay upright
while humans do.
Lineages

14. Where are most neanderthal fossils found?

Europe
15. How did the face of neanderthals differ from modern humans?
Their skull is long and low instead of high and short
16. Suggest one reason why neanderthals became extinct.

Lineages - Related Links

17 What is the Missing Link and why is it not an accurate term for hominid
evolution?

18. How humans populated the globe is a question among paleoanthroplogists.

Compare the "Out of Africa Theory" to the "Multiregional Theory"
The out of Africa theory says that modern humans evolved from a local population of archaic humans in Africa. The multi regional theory says
human population in regional areas evolved into modern humans
19. How does evolution explain the diversity of people throughout the world, like
types of skin color?
Skin color is determined by the amount of dark melanin pigment
in the lower level of skin.

Final Project - - Using resources found at the becominghuman.org,

choose one of the projects below.

Choose four hominid species and create a chart that compares the three species
in relation to age, diet, range, and other information. Include sketches of the skull.
(The hominid profile section will help you here)

Create a timeline of 10 important events or discoveries in paleoanthropology.

Discuss the prevailing views of the time and how each of these new discoveries
or conclusions lead to a dramatic change in how scientists later viewed human
evolution.

Create a cladogram (a family tree) of the hominid species. Use branches to show
the possible relationships of the different species.